By Anthony Gorges
JC Post
The Junction City Blue Jays beat the Washburn Rural Junior Blues 17-0 on Friday night in Topeka.
The scoring started late in the first quarter, thanks to a short field due to a Washburn Rural fumble. The Blue Jays were set up inside the red zone at the Rural 15-yard line. Junction City had fourth and goal from the two-yard line, and junior running back Justice Fonoti barreled his way into the endzone to give Junction City a 7-0 lead.
Both offensives struggled to move the ball, and the first half featured several turnovers from both teams.
The turning point in the game for the Blue Jays was when Washburn Rural had first and goal from the four-yard line following an interception. The Junction City defense held strong and the Junior Blues of Washburn Rural once again turned it over on downs.
The only other scoring in the first half came courtesy of a Junction City field goal. Senior kicker Ethan Hileman connected on a 22-yard field goal into the wind. Junction City led 10-0 at halftime.
Both defenses stood firm in the second half. Washburn Rural drove down the field on their first drive of the second half but came up empty as Junction City's Lovell Autry blocked a 33-yard field goal attempt.
The officials spotted the ball at the 20-yard line following the missed field goal, and the Blue Jay offense drove the ball down the field and junior Jamarcus Tyson found the endzone on a six-yard touchdown run. At this point, the Blue Jays led 17-0 and held on to win.
For the first time this season, Junction City has won back-to-back games and their record improves to 3-4. The Blue Jays will travel to Emporia next week to wrap up their regular season.